The familiar beeping and whirling of ‘Sneaker’ caused her to stir as she rolled over from one side of her bunk to the other. She’d open her eyes briefly to look at the purple-grey R9 unit with a soft frown on her features. Amber colored orbs would stare intently at its mechanical form, as if she wanted to dismantle it right then and there. With a groan, she’d sit up and place hands over her face, rubbing gently. “Ok, ok, I’m up.”

The droid warbled and let out a soft wail as it moved to the end of her bed and bumped it hard. She sighed heavily and dropped her hands into her lap before looking over at him with a slight smirk. “I’ll get up when I feel like it…in-fact, I feel like I want to take five more minutes and really I don’t think you possess the capabilities of getting me out of here otherwise.” She fell back into her bed and rolled herself up in the sheets.

She opened one eye, scanning the room as best she could for ‘Sneaker’ but he had moved – it wasn’t until she heard the sound of one of his compartment doors opening the familiar crackle of energy that she realized what was about to happen…

~ZAP~

She yelped and fell out of the bed in a heap of limbs and fabric, cursing loudly. She stood up quickly and tossed the sheet over the droid, shouting at him. “Are you karking mad!?” She stomped her foot on the floor and threw her hands up. “That really hurt!” With a huff, she stormed away from the bunk and the sheet covered droid and towards the refresher. “Fine! I’m awake!”

She could barely make out his wails and beeps underneath the sheet as she slammed the refresher door behind her, but the sound of him falling over did create a muffled thud that caused her to chuckle softly as she began prepping herself for the day ahead. The process was something fairly simple – She didn’t wear the traditional robes of the Jedi Order – no, she wore her typical outfit – which required little time to adorn. Her hair was kept up in a tight ponytail, something she had begun to favor since she returned to Ossus before she left with Cazzik to confront her brother.

She exited the refresher a few short minutes later – only to find the droid still struggling with the sheets over his dome. With a groan, she’d pull them off him roughly and toss them on her bed before plopping down on the edge. Hands would reach down beside her and grab her black combat boots – with a soft groan of overly used muscles, she’d strain to put them on and fasten them. She felt sore recently, maybe it was everything that had gone on and all the training she had done in private. Maybe it was the trip with Cazzik that was still having an effect on her body. Maybe it was just – years of stress finally coming off her being and it just caused her muscles to tense and relax.

Who knew.

Being a Jedi didn’t mean she wasn’t prone to weakness and fatigue.

The time to lament on her fatigue would come later, at this moment – something else was requiring her attention. She could feel a familiar presence within the Force approaching her dormitory room. A sigh escaped her lips as she moved off the bed and quickly adjusted the sheets to ensure they were neat and tidy, as she was sure she didn’t want to upset the guest that was about to make her grand entrance. The presence in the Force was one that was mixed with emotions – more so disappointment than delight to see Aaralyn return from anything resembling combat. Her former Master, her closest friend and a woman she considered family – a sister. The bond they shared resembled the closest ties a Padawan and Master could share – outside of love, and it was shattered when the darkness of the Korriban crystal corrupted the soul of Aaralyn.

There were days that she wished she could move the hands of time back, maybe adjust the wheels of fate to turn in a different direction – things would most certainly be different. However, she wouldn’t have sought exile on Tython and learned from the greatest Masters in the Order and come back renewed in the Light and cleansed of the darkness, able to challenge most of her fears head on – except this one.

The temple's hangar was alive with activity. Men and women running back and forth and heavy equipment loading crates onto shuttles. The Skywalker was back in system and due for a refit and resupply before heading out for another long voyage. Plus, the padawans and crew needed some time on the ground in a real atmosphere rather than the one they've become accustomed to on the ship. The ship's commanding officer, Jedi Master Faye Ward, had not planned to stay for long, though. They had some prospective Jedi to pick up on a couple of border worlds and these days Faye preferred to stay away from Ossus. If she had her way she wouldn't have needed to come back at all, but the Skywalker was a ship and ships had limited resources. Without assistance from Ossus the crew would not last long out in the depths of space.

"You look busy," Elena Connor, otherwise known as Nova, said as she came up behind Faye, "You know, you don't have to oversee everything, right?"

Faye had a datapad in her hand and was making notes and checking things off as she inspected each crate being loaded onto the shuttles. "Someone has to make sure it gets done right."

"Look, I did a lot of things I'm not exactly proud about either. I've hurt people and helped some very bad men do very bad things. I was lost and alone but I found my way back here and you've forgiven me, so why can't you forgive her?"

Finally Faye stopped what she was doing and set the datapad aside. "Elena, you know that's not the same. Yes, you did some bad things but you didn't take an active hand in the murder of thousands of innocent people using the skills I taught you. You've never slaughtered children."

Nova bit her lip, Faye had her there. What Aaralyn did on Onderon was reprehensible, there was no denying that, but from what she heard of the story Aaralyn had found her way back from the darkness on Tython and was now here only to seek redemption. Nova felt that if Aaralyn truly felt remorseful then she should at least be given that chance. "Either way, Master Ward," Nova said, reverting to the formality of using her title rather than her first name (something she only did when expressing disappointment), "you can't keep running from your fears forever. Eventually you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that she's here now until the Council decides what to do with her. You can't keep avoiding this place forever, especially since you're on the Council."

Faye sighed then picked up the datapad again, gesturing with her hand for Nova to leave. "Elena, I'm very busy right now. We can discuss this later, now if you don't mind...," she left the rest hanging in the air.

Nova stared at her a moment then threw her arms up in the air in frustration. "Fine," she said as she turned to leave, "You know for a Jedi Master you can be surprisingly childish."

Faye said nothing as she left and instead dove into her work. Though, deep inside she knew that Elena was right. Eventually she would have to confront Aaralyn and resolve things somehow. She couldn't put it off forever. Eventually Makaera would call for a meeting of the Jedi High Council and the matter of what to do with Aaralyn would finally come to a conclusion. She was just afraid of what that conclusion might be, or more precisely she was afraid of what she would have to say about a woman she once considered a sister in arms...